“Why does it cost so much?”

A phrase we as veterinarians hear way too often. 

I think the owners do not understand how much money, time, effort, and energy was put into the studies of the veterinarian who is giving you a 15 minute consultation. Overall, it seems that the value of knowledge shared by the expert in the field tends to be underestimated or not valued at all. An average veterinary conference costs around 500-1000 euros, which we often pay ourselves.

I have no idea how much a bone fracture repair operation costs (but I am more than sure it costs a lot), I would still only pay for the bed place as everything else is covered by the government (that means- our taxes). As this kind of thing does not exist in veterinary practice, we put all those numbers on the paper and this needs to be paid by the owner. Here I want to remind you what the fox said in the Little Prince “ You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed”. 

What I can recommend to owners to ease the payment, contact insurance companies that can insure your pet. 

“If I were a veterinarian, I would treat animals for free”- I think all veterinarians would agree to treat animals for free, but only if we then get free living space, free food, free car, free clothes for ourselves and our kids etc etc... but it seems world does not work like that.

Nick